A trusted brand. A trusted history.
About Us and Our History - Your North Alabama Garage Door Company
Our Foundation Dates Back to 1921
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Overhead Door Company of Huntsville/North Alabama™
Overhead Door Company of Huntsville/North Alabama™ has been locally owned, operated and fully managed by the Warren Family since 2004.
With a long history in North Alabama, the Overhead Door™ Brand and its presence, products, and services in the Huntsville and surrounding metro areas have been the number one preferred garage door repair and installation choice for over 55+ years. The Overhead Door Company™ has been serving North Alabama since 1968.
Our people are the very heart of our business. Our operations, activities, and success all rely on the people who work for us.
With the knowledge, experience, energy, contributions, and vision of our employees, we continue to build our future and be highly competitive in the local North Alabama garage door industry, with customer service our top priority. We have an ongoing interest in improving our work environment and being surrounded by engaged employees. They lead our company through daily changes within this ever-changing industry.
You’ll never reach a call center. Always a local and friendly voice!
We require our technicians to pass drug screenings and background checks before becoming a part of our team. That’s why we’ll never send a subcontractor to your home.
Operating out of our fully stocked trucks, we’ll ensure the complete setup of springs, bearings, rollers, cables, and openers in a timely manner. We always haul unwanted materials off-site.
We offer a fully operational showroom at our location.
Over 3,500 Verified Online Reviews
We’re in Your Neighborhood
Huntsville,Madison, Athens, Decatur, East Limestone, Harvest, Hazel Green, Hampton Cove, Brownsboro, Priceville, Owens Cross Roads, Mooresville, Ryland, Normal, Meridianville, Gurley, Toney, Tanner and the surrounding metro areas in North Alabama.
The Overhead Door™ Difference
For an incomparable garage door service experience.
Since 1921, The Overhead Door™ Corporation has designed, built, and installed the best garage doors in the business. As part of the Overhead Door™ network of trusted dealers, we’re committed to the same service that’s made the Overhead Door™ the symbol industry of excellence.
We are proud to call ourselves a local distributor of The Genuine. The Original. Overhead Door Company™. It’s an honor to share the Overhead Door™ name, logo, trademark, and commitment to quality and service with 450+ distributors worldwide.
You Requested. We listened.
The History of the Garage Door and Opener
The Foundation of Overhead Door Company™
In 1919, Owen L. Dautrick applied for a patent for an upward acting, “rolling or flexible” garage door. On Aug. 1, Dautrick, a superintendent at a Detroit lumber company in 1921, applies for a U.S. patent for an “invention relating to garage doors, and has special reference to that type of building door which is bodily raised and placed in a horizontal overhead position.”
The patent application identifies Dautrick as the “inventor” and C.G. Johnson as a “witness” to the application.
Dautrick Johnson Mfg. Co. is set up at 5065 Rohns Avenue in Detroit to manufacture and sell overhead doors to be used on garages and other buildings. The original factory in 1921 was a two-story, 1,000-sq.-ft. barn in Detroit with a production capacity of one hand-built door per day.
By the later part of 1922, the Dautrick-Johnson Company’s main product was the “Overhead Door.”
On Oct. 16, 1922, Owen L. Dautrick, C.G. Johnson, and Arthur Kraska apply for a U.S. patent for “certain new and useful improvements in overhead doors.” It identifies all three as the “inventor,” while Forest McKee is a witness.
Historians have researched and found the earliest reference to the “Overhead Door Company” dates back to a newspaper article in January 1923.
C.G. Johnson changed the course of the garage door’s place in our history. After acquiring a patent, Johnson took this invention and traveled across the Midwest with a small prototype mounted to the back of his Model T, promoting and sharing at county fairs and countless small towns, all while signing up distributors. Johnson and his wife, Flora, hit the road at the beginning of 1923. Johnson was ahead of his time by using sales tactics such as customer coupons and bulletins to share the news about his innovative garage door while creating customer awareness.
America was ready for the message and the product being shared. Our founder, C.G. Johnson, was a true innovator and clever entrepreneur. He recognized the problem of his day and came up with the most ingenious solution: The Original Overhead Door. Johnson then leveraged these innovations into a business and a brand that quickly gained a reputation for quality, service and integrity. He was so successful that he could not build and install overhead doors for such a large area. Instead, he franchised the territorial rights to manufacture and sell the doors to independent operators across the country.
In 1923, the headquarters were moved to Hartford City and they incorporated the business in Indiana. These inventions created the foundation for C.G. Johnson’s well-respected enterprise that would be known as The Overhead Door Corporation.
In April 1924, the 200,000-square-foot facility was completed and Overhead Door moved its primary manufacturing operation from Detroit to Hartford City.
During the first few years at Hartford City, Johnson made constant improvements to his overhead door: adding new hinges, rollers, a channel track, and a patented wedge closure system to create a weather-tight seal.
In 1926, Herbert Cady Blodgett invented the first electric garage door opener. Together, with Johnson, they formed the Door Control Company in Hartford City, Indiana, later adopting the name Overhead Door Company of Hartford City. In 1926, Blodgett was named President of the Door Control Company of Hartford City, while Johnson was named the Vice President. By 1927, Blodgett is shown as an employee as Overhead Door.
The "Father" of the Garage Door Industry
Johnson has been credited with inventing the first upward-acting overhead garage door in 1921 and the garage door opener in 1926. His concept was both elegant and functional and only required a simple demonstration to sell it. Some would describe C.G. Johnson as the “father” of the garage door industry. Almost 100 years later, the Overhead Door™ brand is continuing the innovative legacy set forth by Johnson. From 1922 to 1933, Johnson is listed as the inventor on as many as 21 US patents pertaining to garage doors and garage door openers.
Today, the Overhead Door Corporation, based in Dallas, Texas, is recognized as a leading single-source manufacturer of integrated door and operator systems for industrial, commercial, and residential applications. The company’s extensive product line encompasses residential garage doors and openers, commercial operators, rolling service, and sectional doors for commercial and industrial applications; high-speed traffic doors; security grilles and closures for various retail and commercial uses.
In total, Overhead Door Corporation and its operating divisions provide the most extensive selection of door systems and related products backed by the leading brand names in North America.
Overhead Door Company of Huntsville/North Alabama™
Phone
256-772-3674Office Hours
Mon-Fri: 7am-10pm
Sat: 8am-10pm
Sun: 10am-10pm
Showroom Hours
By appointment only
Mon-Fri: 9am-5pm
What We Do
The Overhead Door Company of Huntsville/North Alabama™ is committed to bringing you the best in garage door services in the Metro Huntsville areas.
We're proud to offer
Residential
Garage Door Repairs, Services, Products and Installations
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Commercial
Garage Door Repairs, Services, Products and Installations
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We have the door to fit your style, your budget, and your needs.
Whether you need a stylish new garage door for your home, a more energy-efficient commercial door for your business, or a well-integrated door system for your industrial application, Overhead Door™ has the products to keep you up and running.
We have a long history of servicing garage doors in North Alabama, including Huntsville, Athens, Madison, Decatur, Harvest, Hazel Green, Meridianville, Gurley, Toney, and the surrounding metro areas.
Overhead Door™ Residential
Overhead Door™ Commercial
As the leading garage door company in North Alabama, we’re proud to offer an extensive list of products and services.
As the leading commercial garage door company in North Alabama, we’re proud to offer an extensive list of products and services.
Residential Services
Residential Products
Commercial Services
Commercial Products
Your Leading Garage Door Experts in Metro Huntsville
The Genuine. The Original. Overhead Door™. Since 1921.
As the only local authorized Overhead Door Company™ distributor in North Alabama, we offer only the best residential garage door repair and service with the products you want and the safety you need.
Keeping your family and your home security is always first in our minds. All of our technicians are full-time employees of Overhead Door Company of Huntsville/North Alabama™ – Never a subcontractor!
